Anything
by i need sleep
Summary: Just how far will Link go to keep Ilia safe? Prompted by the extremely frustrating mission, the escort to Kakariko, in Twilight Princess. Link and Ilia oneshot.


_Anything _ **by** i need sleep

**Genre: **Friendship/General

**Rating: **K+. T at most, because I am paranoid.

**Prompt: **The escort to Kakariko

**Summary: **Just how far will Link go to keep Ilia safe? Drabble-y, but it's a bit too long for that.

–

Do you want to know a secret?

He didn't really want to do it.

Living in the peaceful and quiet Ordon, Link always assumed that the rest of his life was going to be just like that – peaceful and quiet. He always thought that he was going to end up like everyone else in town – married with children, waking up at the break of dawn to work through the day. After the non rigorous work, he would go home to the smell of a beautiful homecooked meal cooked by an equally beautiful wife and the sound of children's laughter by the fire place.

It wasn't an awfully exciting life, but it was stable. Link liked stable, he liked routine, he liked the familiar.

Which was why he found the journey to save Hyrule difficult.

During that time, he never really got enough sleep. His body was battered and bruised. His mind lost the last shreds of innocence it once possessed. Death and peril were constant companions looking over his shoulder, like the fiery imp that accompanied him. The journey forced him to grow up. It pushed him far out of his comfort zone. Every day, he wondered what surprise was around the corner. He wondered if the day will be his last.

But he went through with it, though it wasn't for Hyrule (as bad as that sounds). It wasn't for the Princess. It wasn't for Midna.

It was for Ilia.

It was the promise to Colin that made him ransack the corners of Hyrule just to find her and bring her back. The promise to find her and take her back to Ordon.

He vanquished the horrors of Twilight to regain the peace he wished to experience again. He wanted peace that he and the various other citizens of Hyrule had taken for granted.

After all, you never really realize what you had until it's gone.

The pain was intense.

It was worse than cuts and bruises. Worse than burns and broken bones. Worse than the pressure and responsibility that piled upon his shoulders with every passing day.

Telma's bar. That was where he saw her again, sword in hand. Sitting by Prince Ralis, on the verge of tears, after the last doctor had rejected them.

All he wanted to do was run up to her and hug her. To hoist her in his arms and just celebrate. But he stood there, frozen on the spot, as she looked at him with fear and confusion.

_"Who are you?"_

They grew up together.

They'd heard the legends, of course; Mayor Bo often shared them by the fire after a long day of work or games. The story of the princesses of old and their heroes. Ilia loved hearing the romance aspects of the stories, while Link loved the adventure – something lacking in Ordon. As children, they played pretend. "Pretend that I'm the Princess," Ilia would say, "and you need to find me and save me!"

Funny how things turn out.

After he had escorted Ilia, Telma and the weak Prince Ralis to Kakariko, she had come to thank him, her faced flushed with glee.

"Thank you, very much, Link!"

Link couldn't help but smile back. He nodded to her and she ran back to the sick Zora monarch as he watched. Telma approached him and put her hand on his shoulder with a sympathetic nod.

"Must be hard for you, kid."

He shrugged. "Not really," he said quietly. After all, he had just seen a glimpse of the girl he had grown up with. His thirst was quenched – that's enough for now.

"You're a good kid, Link," Telma smiled at him softly, looking on to watch Ilia as well. "I'm sure she'll remember you soon enough."

"I hope so, Telma. I really miss her."

Whenever things got hard, his mind would conjure her face and he would feel the strength to fight again. Whenever he felt scared, he would remember back to the times when Ordon was a peaceful, safe haven. Whenever he felt like giving up, he would think of the people of Hyrule and the Twilight – the couples in love; those yet to find love; children and their dreams... He thought of Uli and Rusl and their unborn child. He thought of Midna, determined to save her people. He thought of Zelda who sacrificed much for hers. He decided her wanted to help them. He wanted to avenge the innocents. He wanted to save the helpless. And those thoughts were usually enough.

However, it would be foolish to say that he wasn't afraid of Ganon. He was terrified. He was near ready to run away, to find a place to hide in and wait until everything was over. But Zelda stood alongside him, and he glanced at her. She must be afraid too, he thinks, but it was hard to tell, watching her as she stood strong and firm, glaring at the demon of power that roared in front of them. He couldn't help but see her as a great queen, striking fear in the hearts of her enemies, never standing down or shirking from her duties to protect and care for her people.

But she glanced at him and he saw the fear hidden in her eyes – fear that was reflected in everyone he has met over his great adventure. In Midna. In Colin. In Rusl, and Uli, and Bo, and Shad, and Ashei, and Telma, and Ralis, and the citizens of Hyrule that he had met.

In Ilia.

The need to protect flourished in him again. Ganon was the last obstacle. As Zelda nodded conspiratorially at him, he lifted his sword over his head and charged.

He can do it. Zelda believed in him. Midna believed in him. Ilia believed in him. The Gorons, the Zoras, the Twilits and the Hylians. They believed in him. They had faith in him.

For the first time in his journey, he had faith in himself, too.

You never really realize what you have until it's gone.

With peace restored in the Twilight Realm and Hyrule, the people had a newfound appreciation for the serenity and order.

Link returned to Ordon and with the plan to live the peaceful life he had always dreamed of.

On the first morning upon his return, he looked out his window and watched as the children ran and screeched across the pumpkin patch, scaring the Cuccoos. Their parents watched them fondly, laughing amongst themselves. It was early – the sun was about to rise – but it was hard to revert back to the life they lived before. Each person was still feeling fearful, feeling like something was about to come around the corner to attack them, to tear their families apart and take their children away. He knew that feeling. Link couldn't sleep as deeply as he did before. Nightmares plagued him, and he continued to fear for his safety. He dreamt of Ganon and Zant. He dreamt of the consequences of failure. He dreamt about Midna leaving and the heartbreak that brought. It was an odd feeling. It felt like something he had experienced before – the departure of a close friend and companion though he couldn't put his finger on it. To distract himself from the pain and the fear, Link found himself pacing and trying things he had never tried before, like knitting (though he would like to keep that to himself) and cooking Yeta's special soup. Anything to take his mind off things.

"Hey, Link!" they waved as he walked into the village proper, and he returned it, grinning as the children tackled his legs, begging him to tell them stories and teach them the ways of the sword.

"Hey, Link."

He looked up to her and smiled as she walked up to him slowly, shyly. It was the stuff of terrible novels. She stood with the sun rising in the horizon behind her, her features accentuated by the orange and purple and pink light. She started jogging and ran, leaping and running into him full force, wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. "Thank you," she cried into his shoulder. She pulled away, "I missed you."

He smiled and shrugged. "I missed you, too."

The children started making retching noises as their mothers glanced at them warningly. "Eew!" They screamed in unison, as Ilia stuck her tongue out at them and they continued to laugh once more. Beth winked at them and they both found themselves blushing as she giggled with her friends.

He looked around at the happy but tired faces of the people around him and felt a surge of pride. He was one of the reasons they were free. All his pain and suffering was worth it.

He looked down at the beautiful lady in his arms, grinning up at him. His princess. His best friend.

Initially, Link didn't really want to do it.

But for Ilia, he did.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>To be honest, the overall mood of this fanfic reminded me of the one I wrote for Doctor Who some time ago. I don't know if you guys have read it, but if you have, what do you think? Am I right?

Anyway, it has been a while, and I'm sorry this was overly angsty at times and generally too melodramatic. I'm getting back to writing now that I'm free from school (for the mean time). Hopefully I will get back to continuing my other stories once inspiration hits, but for now, I think it would be safe to tell you guys to expect a few more Zelda fics when I get to writing them, because I am currently playing Twilight Princess and am aiming on getting OoT for the 3DS and Skyward Sword when I get a job and money. To clear it up, my Zelda OTP is Link and Zelda, but I love Link and Ilia's friendship so much, I was like, "I just have to write this." Well, I hope you liked it, and leave me a review if you have some suggestions. Or to just leave me some lovin', which I appreciate very muchly.

Also, I might get around to writing Hunger Games fanfics because that's what I'm currently obssessed with. Okay. I'm done ranting, you may go back to reading other people's stories or doing work that you're probably meant to be doing...


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